In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that Christians are the light of the world.

But if Christians are the light of the world, and there are so many Christians, why is the world so dark?

The darkness of the world is obvious: The examples seem to get worse every day. There are crimes, wars and perversions, but we have always had those. What is worse is the growing rejection of even the notion that there is right and wrong. “The greatest sin today is that men have lost the sense of sin,” Pope Francis said recently, citing Pope Pius XII.

When even Christians lose their sense of sin, the world becomes very dark indeed. Pope Francis said that there is great suffering in the world today because of “our Christian mediocrity, when we lose the sense of sin.”

Why does our mediocrity make others suffer? Because we are the light of the world, and our failure means a mass blackout.

We tend to think of the world as a competing light. If we picked an image, we might make the world a city of powerful neon lights that we have to stand up to with our little votive candles. But that’s not what Jesus says. He says it is a place of darkness we are supposed to illuminate.

In other words, the world is in a state of utter weakness. There is no such thing as darkness. Darkness is the absence of light. Ultimately, our job is to provide light where there is none.

Christians not only can do that, we often do. We know from personal experience just how common this is. Meeting Christians who are surrendered to God is an unforgettable experience. They have a joy about them and a penetrating spirit that shows you things you would never see otherwise in a gentle, loving but totally honest way.

After Raissa Gorbachev met Pope John Paul II, she said, “He is light! He is pure light!”

As Catholic author and op-ed writer Ross Douthat put it, “The example of a single extraordinary woman, Mother Teresa, did more for Christian witness in the 20th century than every theology department and political action committee put together.”

But we can also think of examples that are closer to home. Priests and sisters we have known have recharged our faith by their witness. Families we have known have changed our families by their example. They do so by doing what Mother Teresa and John Paul did: They have a deep prayer life and a loving life of service. They shine the light of Christ.

We should all be like that — we are all meant to be lights to others. The trick is to remember that it is not our light, but Christ’s, that really shines out.

How do we let it shine? The answer is in today’s Gospel: Take away the “bushel basket.”

A bushel basket is something you collect grain in; it’s an instrument of work — it was used in the everyday lives of farmers, merchants and families in biblical times. Jesus is saying that we tend to hide our light under our work, under the activities of our everyday lives that we don’t allow to be touched by the Gospel. We hide our light when decide that we don’t have to be Christian right now because we need to be busy doing something else.

But that is not what we should do. We need to let the light of Christ shine through us.

We need to start our day with prayer and continue it with service. We must love God in our neighbors where we find our neighbors: at home, at school, at the office, at the store, at church and everywhere else we find ourselves.

Christians need to let their lights shine in every aspect of their lives — in their workplaces, in their social lives, in their family lives and in their marriages. Only when people see in us a little bit of what they saw in Mother Teresa and John Paul will they believe what we say about the Christian life.

Comments

I want to introduce myself on behalf of Msgr. Philip J. Reilly, founder, and my wife Wenqi as the three original initiators of We Want To Be Taught! Thank you for caring about the Catholic faith and her invaluable teachings. Thank you for supporting this petition to Rome as well. We are not asking for any money, we just want Pope Francis to grant us the Catechetical lectionary. We have heard from the former Secretary of State under Pope Francis and he has instructed us to send this to our bishops. Please spread the word far and wide. Thank you!

Posted by Manticore on Sunday, Feb 23, 2014 5:10 PM (EST):

“Parents and other people can not teach their children and others what they do not know. They can not evangelize what they do not know.”
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## That deserves some “Like"s.

Posted by ANNE on Sunday, Feb 23, 2014 7:59 AM (EST):

“….. let us ask ourselves if we have actually taken a few steps to get to know Christ and the truths of faith more, by reading and meditating on the Scriptures, studying the Catechism, steadily approaching the Sacraments.” Pope Francis, May 15, 2013.
&
“….the CATECHISM has raised throughout the world, even among non-Christians, and confirms its purpose of being presented as a full, complete exposition of Catholic doctrine, enabling everyone to know what the Church professes, celebrates, lives, and prays in her daily life.” – Pope John Paul II (CCC pg xiv)
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Parents and other people can not teach their children and others what they do not know. They can not evangelize what they do not know.
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All Catholic homes must have a Catholic Bible and a Catechism of the Catholic Church Second Edition.
All literate persons must aggressively and prominently and frequently be encouraged to read/study them - at HOME - by each Diocese Bishop and Parish Priest. (There are no good excuses such as needed baby sitters, etc. to remain in ingnorance.)
Parents need to be told from the pulput that it is their responsibility to teach their children the Faith.
We each also have a responsibility to tell others to read the Bible and the CCC, and if we can afford it - to purchase these for our extended family members so they will know what the TRUTH of the Faith.
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Hosea 4:6 - ” My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge;
because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. - GOD

Posted by Manticore on Sunday, Feb 23, 2014 2:12 AM (EST):

Theresa H:
“Years ago, almost every single Catholic Church had a Catholic Grade School—even High School—attached to it; our children knew their faith and, pretty much, the World War II Generation of Catholics lived their faith….”
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## ....then the Curse that is Vatican II inflicted a plague of renewal upon the Church. Enter the scarlet & black hordes of the Catholicism-Snatchers. Fall asleep - & die !
“The Twilight Zone” should make the (cough)renewal(cough)into one of its episodes - it’s far weirder than anything TTZ has yet shown. The last 50 years need the full horror treatment - where are Sam Raimi & James Cameron when they are wanted ?
Alternatively: “Honey, I Shrunk the Church” - now that has enough mileage in it for a horror-comedy franchise.

Posted by Manticore on Sunday, Feb 23, 2014 2:02 AM (EST):

Simple - because Christians are useless.

Posted by Maggie on Tuesday, Feb 11, 2014 2:52 PM (EST):

I didn’t read the article but just a quick response to the title. It’s because we are hiding our light out of fear of what the world thinks. If they started rounding us up again to kill us most would escape roundup because we don’t live according to the faith we profess.

Posted by ANNE on Tuesday, Feb 11, 2014 6:43 AM (EST):

joyce, wonderful comment. So true. Because Catholics do not know Jesus, they cannot proclaim Jesus.
Catechesis of both children and adults for the most part is lousy in the USA.
Therefore we must educate ourselves by reading the New Testament and the CCC. And encourage others to do the same.
Most Catholics must be evangelized, and I think this is missed by so leaders in the Church.
People can not teach what they do not know.
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“This heart of mine is Yours, my Jesus, so take this heart of mine, fill it with your love and then order me to do whatever you wish.” - Padre Pio.

Posted by joyce on Monday, Feb 10, 2014 10:56 PM (EST):

Pope Paul VI said that it is unfortunate so many christians have only been sacramentalized and not evangelized. He went on to say that evangelization is leading people to a personal faith in Jesus Christ. Many catholics faith is limited to devotional piety and doctrinal truths which is important and necessary but as is stated in the letter to the Hebrews chapter 12 we must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus the leader and perfector of faith. John Paul II has said there is no evangelization unless Jesus is proclaimed. Jesus is the Good News and catholics must embrace that if they going to effectively share their faith. Priest homilies are usually limited to social justice and the needs of the poor but this is only a part of the Gospel -Jesus must be proclaimed first and foremost.

Posted by dan tracy on Monday, Feb 10, 2014 2:11 PM (EST):

” is that years ago our priests used to give homilies that applied the Mass Readings on Sunday to daily life.”

We need our priests to do this as many are not reading the Gospels at home, so the priest has this window of opportunity at Mass to invite people to hear the word, to know that Jesus is speaking to us today, and that the Word is how we can know Jesus and invite Him to be part of life…each and every moment of every day.

Given the low Mass attendance by Catholics and the demands and empty distractions of our modern life, this invitation will likely not touch many at first. If, however,the priest continuously preaches the offer of Jesus’ invitation—of knowing Him and living for Him—through the homilies, then hearts and minds can be changed one by one.

The invitation opens doors to knowing Jesus and knowing the Church. I have learned more about the Church and what Jesus speaks to us about over the past 10 years of life then over the previous 30 years. Church school, etc. of my youth was uninformative and, while perhaps planting a seed, did not challenge me to know Jesus. It was years later in adult life, and after a period of time away from the Church, that this seed begin to take hold.

The needed change will not happen overnight for parishes and attendees, but our time here is meager compared to God’s time.

Although they are very good, classes at the Parish do not take the place of reading at home.
There are no excuses not to read at home. No babysitters needed; don’t need to get dressed in any particular way, etc, etc.
Reading can take the place of watching TV or playing on computer.
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Priests need to tell people that:
There is a plenary indulgence attached to reading a Catholic Bible for a minimum of 30 minutes (along with going to confession, Holy Communion, praying for intention of Pope, and having the intention of gaining the indulgence.)
We can read/study the CCC at home as well.
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Priests need to preach the following:
CCC: “1791 This ignorance can often be imputed to personal responsibility.
This is the case when a man takes little trouble to find out what is true and good, or when conscience is by degrees almost blinded through the habit of committing sin.
In such cases, the person is culpable for the evil he commits.”
and
CCC: “2252 Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children in the faith, prayer, and all the virtues. They have the duty to provide as far as possible for the physical and spiritual needs of their children.”
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Parents will have to answer to God regarding the education of their Children. This requires educating themselves first. We can not teach accurately what we do not know.

Posted by chris awo on Monday, Feb 10, 2014 4:26 AM (EST):

What does it mean to be salt of the earth? Generally speaking salt is used for food preservation purposes and as well as to make food palatable and pleasing to taste. Without the presence of Catholics (Christians) in the world, the world would become totally rotten pretty quickly. Without the apostolate of Catholics (Christians) in the world; the whole world would be in pitch darkness quite rapidly.
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We must not underestimate the words of our Lord Jesus. What we wish the world to be depends on our prayers as Catholics and as Christians. Prayers, fasting, penances, is the way to follow if we desire to mould the world as God wants it to be. If we want world peace, then we pray for it. If we want pagans to be converted to Christianity, then we pray for it. If we want sinners to be forgiven their sins, then we pray for it. We are the salt of the Earth and the light of the world. The world needs to conform to us; we do not need to conform to the world.
culled from http://www.popeleo13.com

Theresa H: Thank you for the info on the WE WANT TO BE TAUGHT website. Signed up. God bless. JMJ+

Posted by Theresa H on Sunday, Feb 9, 2014 6:20 PM (EST):

Ann, the sad fact is that only 30% of Catholics have been attending Sunday Mass on a weekly basis for some years, so we shouldn’t be surprised as to “why” there is “so much darkness” in the world. Years ago, almost every single Catholic Church had a Catholic Grade School—even High School—attached to it; our children knew their faith and, pretty much, the World War II Generation of Catholics lived their faith….

Now, nearly two generations of Catholics lack education in our Catholic Faith! Parents can’t transmit much to their children because they don’t know much either! I think part of the problem, too, is that years ago our priests used to give homilies that applied the Mass Readings on Sunday to daily life; now they offer a biblical commentary….Combine this with the “secularization” of the culture and we have a huge “recipe for disaster” in matters of faith and morals within the Church and society!

About three years ago, Our Parish started offering the Adult Study of the “Catechism of the Catholic Church:” 8-10 people attend on a weekly basis. Not very many, but at least a few people are really interested to learn more about their faith! (There is also a group on the Internet called: “WE WANT TO BE TAUGHT!”) With the shortage of Priests and Sisters all across the country, the Church needs the laity to assist in Catechesis. Some Catholic Universities around the country are offering a 3 Year Post-Graduate Program of Studies in Theology. There is, indeed, a great need for more of the laity to get involved in learning more about our faith—AND sharing it!

Posted by ANNE on Sunday, Feb 9, 2014 8:26 AM (EST):

The world is so dark because literate Catholics are not actively and publically encouraged to read the BIBLE and “CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, Second Edition”.
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People do not accurately know their Faith, therefore cannot live the Faith, therefore can not teach the Faith to their children and others.
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“….the CATECHISM has raised throughout the world, even among non-Christians, and confirms its purpose of being presented as a full, complete exposition of Catholic doctrine, enabling everyone to know what the Church professes, celebrates, lives, and prays in her daily life.” – Pope John Paul II (CCC pg xiv)
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We must encourage every literate person to read a Catholic Bible (especially the New Testament) and the CCC.

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